Archive for February 2015

“This fight preparation was totally hard, it’s hot because it is Miami. It’s hard work in the gym and obviously it’s hot outside. Every day is good. Every fight preparation for me is very important whether it is title fight or not.

[About being favored to win] “I am not worried at all about this because if favorite or not favorite, underdog or not underdog, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care about it.

“I have to focus for all fight and getting prepared for all 12 rounds because who knows what will be inside the ring or what will he bring? I don’t know how ready he will be. It’s difficult to say ‘I will do’ because nobody knows what we dotomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We will see in the ring who will be best and who will win.”

“As a fighter he is a very dangerous fighter. He has a punch, he can punch hard. I am very interested to fight with him and see what I can do in the ring against Jean Pascal because every fight is something new; it’s like a new test. For me it’s very important this fight. He’s a very good fighter, smart. He has a lot of power. It’ll be a very interesting fight, believe me, because I will be there!

“It’s my goal to unify all four titles in my division, but right now I have to focus for my defense of the three titles I have already. After this I am ready for another unification.

[On the win over Bernard Hopkins] “I already forgot (laughs). I have to focus on this fight. It’s already past. Now I need to go forward.

“I am still adjusting and adapting in this country, but I love this country. I love my country, Russia, and I love also America. It’s very nice, people are very nice. My family is here and I want to thank God a lot that he gave me this opportunity to build my career as a professional here in America, because America is the mecca of boxing.

“I don’t have any strategy for any fight, I am adjust my fighting from the situation. Because if your opponent will definitely be fighting differently with you and your plan is broken you need to do some thinking inside. For me it’s not my goal to knock somebody out in the ring. I’m just boxing, if it will happen that I knock him out or down, it’s a bonus! Save me time, save me energy and make me mentally stronger, and teach me what I should do in the gym to repeat this.

[On Pascal] “He’s throwing a lot of punches after you do. It’s like you’re punching and he’s blocking and throwing. It’s a dangerous moment. You should be very careful. For every fight you should be careful but he’s fast. He’s smart. He’s a very good athlete. He’s a very good boxer. He’s fought good fighters: Bernard Hopkins, Carl Froch and Chad Dawson. They were champions; the best in light heavyweight division. But now it’s our fight and this fight is more interesting for boxing fans because he likes to speak a lot more than he needs to speak. But it’s just making me hungry. I’m not talker, I will show everything, who I am, in the ring. I’m very interested what he will say after the fight when he will be sleeping on the floor!

“I don’t care what he says. He can say before one thing, but in the ring everybody doing different when faced with me. I don’t want to say that everybody is afraid of me or scared of me. Before the fight is before the fight. When you are in the ring and you see how hard your opponent can punch, like maximum, believe me your mind changes. Before the fight everybody has a plan.”

About Kovalev vs. Pascal

Kovalev vs. Pascal is a 12-round fight for the WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Championship Titles. The fight will be televised as part of a live triple header on HBO World Championship Boxing® on March 14, 2015 from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Tickets are on sale now at the Bell Centre ticket office, at www.evenko.ca, by telephone at 1-855-310-2525 or through Club de Boxe Champion (514-376-0980). This event is a co-promotion of Main Events and InterBox, presented by Vidéotron in association with Mise-O-Jeu.

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 26, 2015) – John “The Gladiator” Molina Jr. and Abner Mares held an open workout for Los Angeles media Wednesday before they lace up their gloves for the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC show taking place Saturday, March 7 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

These fights are part of the blockbuster card promoted by Goossen Promotions featuring Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero and Adrien Broner vs. John Molina, Jr. that will air live on NBC (8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT). The Abner Mares vs. Arturo Santos Reyes bout will be televised live on the NBC show (8:30-11 p.m. ET) or on the NBCSN telecast (11 p.m. ET).

Tickets for the live event are priced at $400, $300, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available at www.mgmgrand.com orwww.ticketmaster.com.

Check out what the fighters had to say about their upcoming bouts:

John Molina Jr., Super Lightweight Contender

“Being the underdog is how I got to this point. I took the scenic route to get here but I’m definitely excited to be on this big show on NBC. It’s going to be a great night of boxing onMarch 7.

“The (Humberto) Soto fight was a learning experience, but going in as the underdog is about going in and doing your job. I’ve had a lot of success as an underdog.

“I just took the positives from my last fight and tried to make the best of it and now I’m here today with the golden ticket in my hand.

“To see where I’m at today, after all I’ve gone through in my career, I’m in awe sometimes but we’re just barely getting started.

“I’m undefeated against quick guys like Adrien Broner and I love being the underdog. Adrien Broner is a great name for the sport of boxing, everyone loves to hate him, so it’s going to be a great night of boxing.

“Stylistically it’s two very different styles and that is what makes great fights. It’s like Apollo Creed and Rocky.

“There’s nothing in the past or before this, I’m only focused on being victorious on March 7.”

Abner Mares, Former Three-Division World Champion

“I have always felt the love from all my different coaches. There’s no perfect coach and no perfect fighter. Going back to Clemente Medina was just the most perfect fit. He knows me well and we’re on the same page. There is a lot of comfort.

“I didn’t lose anything from the Gonzalez fight, I gained. I learned a lot from that fight and now I’m more focused on becoming better and better.

“I have to go out there and make a statement. I’m going out there and branding myself on national television. I’m excited for people to see me out there and my mentality is to go in there and impress. I want to steal the show.

“I hope Leo Santa Cruz is next. I know it’s there. I just want to look sharp and go from there.”

AROMAS, CALIF. (Feb. 19, 2015) – Media in the Bay Area gatheredWednesday to watch Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero prepare for his headlining welterweight showdown with Keith “One Time” Thurman on the inaugural Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC taking place Saturday, March 7 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Tickets for the live event are priced at $400, $300, $100 and $50, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Here is what Guerrero had to say heading into his historic bout with Thurman:

ROBERT GUERRERO, Former Four-Division World Champion

“I’m very happy that the fight is right around the corner. I’m looking forward to giving fans a great night in boxing. A lot of big shots are going to be thrown from my end.”

“I know Keith Thurman is training hard and so am I. This fight is going to be a war and I’m looking forward to it.”

“Training camp is wrapping up and my body feels great. This is one of the best camps I’ve had in a very long time and the fans can count on me being at peak performance on fight night.”

“I can’t wait to show the world and everybody watching on NBC what I’m all about. March 7 can’t come soon enough. I’m ready to go!”

# # #

Premier Boxing Champions on NBC is promoted by Goossen Promotions and features Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero and Adrien Broner vs. John Molina, Jr. in bouts that will air live on NBC (8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT). The Abner Mares vs. Arturo Santos Reyes bout will be televised live on the NBC show (8:30-11 p.m. ET) or on the NBCSN telecast (11 p.m. ET).

Philadelphia, PA (January 31, 2015) – King’s Promotions & XFE had to change venues from Harrah’s Philadelphia to 2300 Arena, but the showcase of Al Haymon fighters otherwise went according to plan. The Haymon Boxing stable went 7-0 on the night, headlined by Prichard “Digget” Colon (12-0, 10 KOs) in the main event. Colon dropped Hector “The Hurricane” Munoz (23-13-1, 15 KOs) moments into the opening round and boxed circles around him thereafter. The only thing judges had to debate was whether or not Colon won each round by 1 or 2 point margins.

Despite making his first trip to Philly, the Puerto Rican junior middleweight / welterweight prospect had impressive fan support. He sees big things for himself in the near future.

In the co-feature of the evening, and the only bout that didn’t involve an Al Haymon fighter, Grayson Blake (5-3, 2 KOs) survived an early onslaught from Anthony Prescott (5-4-2, 2 KOs) and reversed the tide in the second half of the fight. It was without a doubt the most competitive bout of the night. Details on the complete card follow.

1) Antonio Russell [116.2 lbs] TKO2 Harold Reyes [120 lbs] (2:10)

10-9 Russell

Reyes knocked clean out by a left hook (from the southpaw stance). Count waived.

Unofficial Card: 10-9 Russell

Russell, the younger brother of Gary Russell Jr, had a highlight reel knockout in his pro debut over Reyes (1-1, 0 KOs). He isn’t as ridiculously fast as his older brother but he does look physically imposing for a super flyweight. Keep an eye out.

Clark (3-0, 3 KOs) was simply too long and skilled for Foster (2-6-1, 0 KOs), who managed to adequately defend himself but offered little back. Clark was able to rock Foster once with a straight left toward the end of round 3 but just outpointed him otherwise. Foster’s counter-punch-only strategy was folly with no physical or technical advantages.

Fulton (3-0, 1 KO) body snatched Gotay (3-2, 1 KO) for 4 rounds before hurting him upstairs with a jab in round 5 and a series of right hands in round 6. Ironically, and perhaps out of embarrassment of being wobbled by a jab, Gotay had his best moments of the fight in the 5th round. Regardless, Gotay was largely ineffective for the duration due to poor footwork and wild punches.

The fight began with Newman (3-1, 3 KOs) and Zadok (2-2-1, 2 KOs) feeling each other out, struggling to land anything of meaning. They both understood angles and range, with Newman edging the action on aggressiveness. Newman ramped up his attack in the following rounds and made the rest of the fight pretty easy to score. Zadok was breathing heavy by round 2 and he dropped to both knees in round 3 following a left hook to the body. He then took a time-out in round 4 to change his mouthpiece, spending the remainder of the fight in survival mode with his new mouthpiece partially outside of his mouth.

The first half of this bout was simply total domination by Williams (5-0, 3 KOs), who controlled action with hand speed and foot movement. Picou (2-4, 0 KOs) couldn’t punch with Williams and aimlessly followed him around the ring during lulls in action. Picou pretty much just shelled up when Williams unloaded and didn’t appear to be trying very hard. Then, all of a sudden, Picou finally found motivation in round 4 to walk Williams down properly and dropped him with a right hook. He landed another good right hook in the following round but threw his progress away by hot-dogging and baiting Williams to hit him. Williams obliged. Neither fighter was very effective in the final round.

Davis (5-0, 3 KOs) more or less dominated Garcia (4-11, 1 KO) but was often clowned by the inferior fighter in the process. Garcia even managed to land a few good potshots to go along with his tomfoolery. Nonetheless Davis did all the damage although Garcia took the shots extremely well.

With both fighters coming off losses they knew statements needed to be made. Prescott made his biggest one in round 2 while Blake returned the favor in round 5. It was pretty amazing that both fighters managed to remain on their feet throughout the bout. Prescott’s youth and speed overwhelmed Blake in the early stages of the fight but he gradually wore down and was exhausted in the later rounds. Blake picked up his first victory since 2012.

Munoz, who was dropped by a right uppercut and nearly taken out in the first round, showed amazing courage and determination to not only survive the distance but get stronger as the fight wore on. Colon went from beating the hell out of Munoz to simply outboxing him, although he did kick it back up a notch at the tail end of the fight. Colon was simply too slick, fast, and long for a crude pressure fighter like Munoz to handle.

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Colon-Munoz at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia was promoted by Kings Boxing and XFE. GFL.TV broadcasted the event online.

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Ryan Bivins is a professional boxer, the creator of Sweet Boxing Ratings, and a member of the voting panel for the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame. You may email him atrgbivins@gmail.comand listen to him Tuesday nights on The Ruckus, part of theBadCulture Radio Network.